Fishermans Horizon

A station located in the center of Horizon Bridge. It's now a haven for expatriates who refused to have their skills exploited by the government.

—FFVIII Info Corner

Fishermans Horizon(フィッシャーマンズ・ホライズン, Fishāmanzu Horaizun?), occasionally abbreviated FH, is a location in Final Fantasy VIII. The town is attached to a transcontinental bridge in the middle of the ocean, with Galbadia to the west and Esthar to the east. The town is lightly populated and sees little immigration due to Esthar shutting itself off from outside interest.

People from the Galbadian continent, attempting to cross to Esthar, have made their permanent residence here. The buildings are made out of recycled materials, and the town's energy is provided by windmills and solar-panels. As the town mayor is a strict pacifist, the town has no militia or weapons, and disputes are solved through discussion.

Fishermans Horizon was built by the dissatisfied engineers who were active during the time of Esthar's development. They decided to abandon their homeland and build a new city elsewhere. The town was named by the man who had played an important role in breaking away from Esthar. Those involved in the town's construction have grown old, but the town has reached the point of seeing its first genuinely native generation grow up. The town was built on the old railroad station used to cross the sea, and ruins of that structure still remain.

Contents

When Balamb Garden crashes into Fishermans Horizon, Mayor Dobe, fearing the SeeDs will start trouble, orders them to leave. He lets his mechanics work on Balamb Garden to fix its controls that have broken down due to lack of maintenance. Galbadian soldiers enter the town in search of Ellone, and after not finding her, decide to burn the entire town down.

Mayor Dobe tries to reason with them, but it's left up to Squall and his party to fight off the Galbadians, who deploy the Iron Clad to deal with them. After its defeat, Selphie and her teammates, who had hid inside it following the mission at the Missile Base, climb out, and are finally reunited with Squall's team. While the technicians are restoring Balamb Garden Selphie and her friends organize a Garden Festival to celebrate Squall's promotion to commander.

Later on in the game, Squall crosses the Horizon Bridge on foot to reach Esthar.

A railroad that connected the East and West continents. Completed about the time the war broke out, it was only used a short time. Since then it has been derelict.

—FFVIII Info Corner

Horizon Bridge is the name of the intercontinental railway bridge that connects Galbadia and Esthar. Ever since the Sorceress War erupted, the Horizon Bridge has been out of operation, stalling all hopes for people to see the wonders of these two continents. Horizon Bridge's appearance on the larger World Map is reminiscent of the Big Bridge in Final Fantasy V which also spans two continents across ocean.

Sun Panel.

Sun Panel

The sun panel is located at the center of the Horizon and is thought to be the main power supplier for the settlement (though in real life solar panels are black so they can absorb the solar energy rather than reflect it). Bolstered by wind fans and possible water refineries, Fishermans Horizon possesses a massive power network. A draw point and a Save Point can be found on its edge, and this is also where the Queen of Cards can be found if she comes to FH.

The Drunkman Alley is the name given to Fishermans Horizon's hotel/item store overlooking one of the Horizon's many wharfs. While its accommodations may seem crude in comparison to most other hotels around the world of Final Fantasy VIII, the Drunkman Alley does provide access to a news screen from which patrons can freely watch to follow the happenings of the world.

The home of the Grease Monkey, who owns a moomba doll who will react to visitors who have been to Shumi Village. The residence is a location to optional events, first after the Iron Clad has been defeated, and later as part of the Shumi Village sidequests.

The now run-down station that served as a halfway point on the Horizon Bridge. The FH Train Station now only serves as scrap metal ready for any mechanic who has found themselves needing a little more.

If the player participates in a sidequest involving the Master Fisherman, they can learn more about the town's history. The player must meet up with him before taking the lift down into the town by descending a difficult-to-see ladder next to a large silo, in the screen before the lift. Master Fisherman gives Squall the Occult Fan III magazine and asks Squall to find his apprentice.

After having liberated the town from Galbadia, the player can witness the apprentice boy near the Junk Shop finally learning to fish properly, and he wants Squall to go and tell his master. On the way, Irvine will join Squall, and instead of going back to Garden, the player must head back to Master Fisherman's fishing spot. He asks Squall to follow him to the local hotel, where he tells Squall and Irvine the town's history, and then asks if they want to hear more.

The player must respond positively and follow Master Fisherman out on the docks, and after some more conversation, the player receives a Megalixir. This will earn 20 SeeD Exp to the player, 0.2 of a SeeD rank.

Master Fisherman will leave, and if the player visits his fishing spot they can find a Full-Lifedraw point. After completing the side quest the player can later meet Master Fisherman in Shumi Village.

Grease Monkey is the man who owns a moomba doll on the outskirts of the town. After Squall has met up with Irvine on his way back to Garden, they must come back to town and visit Grease Monkey, to find the Galbadian officer demanding he fix the Iron Clad. After an event, Grease Monkey rewards Squall and Irvine with a Mega-Phoenix.

Later, Irvine is organizing a concert where the player must choose instruments for each character. After choosing an instrument the player, now controlling Irvine, can leave the scene and roam around the Garden and the town. Irvine can have a scene with the man by the lift and go visit the sleeping Squall in his dorm, and hear news about himself by checking the terminal in the hotel, but if the player visits the Grease Monkey, they learn the Galbadian officer is back. After a scene Irvine can receive a Phoenix Down from Grease Monkey, and by examining the officer's body, some ammo for his Shot.

"Mix"
If the player mixes scores from the two pieces, with two instruments each, Rinoa will complain that the music is awful. If the scores are mixed with three from one piece and one from the other, Rinoa will find it hard to understand. Either way, finding herself feeling misconstrued rejection from Squall.

The FFVIII Info Corner entry for the town is labelled "Fisherman's Horizon" (note the apostrophe); however, every other instance of the name in-game (dialogue and the location both in the menu and on save files) neglects the apostrophe.

The news screen acts much in the same way as Selphie's page on the Study Panel, insofar as it will give a light commentary on recent and ongoing events in the game.

At least one of the locals at FH helped paint Balamb Garden, presumably while it was being built upon the Centra Shelter that makes it mobile.